« Reply #11 on: 14 October 2015, 15:34 »
Hi,
I've had my GTD for 18 months now, and I'm thinking its time for a change. I like the car, but I usually change every 12 months or so, so I'm getting itchy feet.
It needed some warranty work doing last week (I was getting stabbed by the broken engine start button!) and whilst picking it up I ended up chatting to a sales guy regarding an R. I had a test drive and loved it.
I've got two big issues that are stopping me pulling the trigger, both cost related.
The first is the trade in value for my GTD. Parkers guide, at the correct mileage and with options declared, has it at c£18,700 for part-ex but the dealer is offering me about £2,000 less than this. I owe £18,900 on the car, so if I'm really going to lose £2,000 at this point then there's no chance of a change. Has anyone recently traded in a GTD - are the trade in prices paid by the dealers really so far from the book price?
The second issue is the GFV on the R. My GTD at list price of £25.5k had a GFV of £12.5k. I'm being offered an R at a list of roughly £31k with a GFV of £12.5k - is this a result of all the leases out there? Have VW completely lost confidence in the R holding value over the next 3 years?
Against all this, the S3 has a GFV of £15.5k and £1k deposit contribution - I prefer the R over the S3 but not to the tune of £115 a month more!
Am I coming at this from the wrong angle? Does anyone buy an R on finance or is a lease the only cost effective way?
Sorry for the long post, but opinions and input would be appreciated!
John
First thing I'd do is try a few more dealers.
A couple days spent on the phone could pay dividends.
If you're open minded whether you have an S3 or an R then I'd just get to work with the figures with as many dealers as possible all around the country.
Once you've had a test drive and know if the car is right for you then the next bit is the finance which can easily be done over the phone and via email. The phone is generally best as once you're on there they won't want to let you go unless you've signed on the line (metaphorically) so that gives you chance to negotiate hard. So long as you know exactly what you want and the sales guy knows this and you stick to the script you'll soon see whether your dealer was just taking advantage of the fact you just dropped in and might not have been too clued up - most punters aren't.
Used car prices are usually stage managed by the finance and marketing people nowadays but there is still the supply and demand variables that places like CAP and Glass's will monitor closely. At present with VW's we have a few slight unknowns thrown into the mix so the trade will be VERY cautious but it's not as if VW have completely turned into a lame duck just yet.

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‘25 8.5R, ‘23 8R, ‘20 8CS, ‘19 135iX, ‘19 TCR, ‘17 Ed40, ‘17 GTD, ‘15 7R, ‘13 GTI PP, ‘11 GTI, ‘09 GTI, ‘98 Ibiza Cupra, ‘05 GTI, ‘06 Polo GTI, ‘04 GT TDI, ‘05 Fabia vRS, ‘02 GTI T, ‘03 Ibiza TDI 130, ‘01 Leon 180, ‘89 mk2 16v, ‘99 Ibiza TDI, ‘96 VR6, ‘98 Ibiza TDI, ‘92 VR6, ‘88 mk2 8v, ‘92 Polo G40, ‘91 mk2 8v, ‘89 mk2 8v, 205 GTI 1.9, ‘83 mk1 GTI, ‘80 Scirocco GTI, plus some others I’ve forgotten